MLK v. Malcolm X DBQ
Debrief
Commonly Made Mistakes
Introductory Paragraphs
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Three major problems
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Thesis statements were not analytical
Did not include sufficient background
development
Did not include the analytical categories
Analytical Thesis Statements
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An analytical thesis statement answers the
question “Why” or “How”
In this DBQ, your thesis statement had to
prove why or how either MLK’s or X’s
approach to the Civil Rights Movement
was more appropriate for the time.
Analytical Thesis Statements
Continued
Non-Analytical Thesis
Martin Luther King’s
philosophy was better
than Malcolm X’s
philosophy.
Analytical Thesis
Martin Luther King’s
philosophy was better
than Malcolm X’s
because his nonviolent approach
created broader
support for the Civil
Rights Movement.
Insufficient Background
Development
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An important component of an introductory
paragraph is creating background for your
reader.
Since this is U.S. History, the background
in your DBQ should have given a basic
summary of the Civil Rights Movement in
some way.
Insufficient Background
Development Example
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Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were
both well-respected leaders of the Civil
Rights Movement.
Background Development
Good Example
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During the Civil Rights Movement in the late
1950s and 1960s, two prominent AfricanAmerican men battled for political, social and
economic equality for their race. Though they
were fighting for the same thing, their ideas for
achieving equality were exceptionally different.
Martin Luther King wanted to non-violently
integrate society; Malcolm X thought complete
separation was the solution to inequality.
Analytical Categories
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Finally, your introductory paragraph must
contain the analytical categories that you
are going to use to support your thesis
statement.
Each analytical category becomes a body
paragraph in your essay.
We went over the analytical categories
together in class.
Example - Poor Introductory
Paragraph
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were
both well-respected leaders of the Civil
Rights movement. However, Martin Luther
King’s philosophy was better than Malcolm
X’s.
Example - Good Introductory
Paragraph
During the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and 1960s, two
prominent African-American men battled for political, social and
economic equality for their race. Though they were fighting for the
same thing, their ideas for achieving equality were exceptionally
different. Martin Luther King wanted to non-violently integrate
society; Malcolm X thought complete separation was the solution to
inequality. At the time, Martin Luther King’s philosophy was better
than Malcolm X’s because his non-violent approach created broader
support for the Civil Rights Movement. The superiority of King’s
approach is demonstrated in his strategy for the Civil Rights
Movement, education, the economy, and the issue of violence.
Analysis in Body Paragraphs
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Many essays were not analytical.
By just summarizing the documents, you
do not answer the prompt.
Like a thesis statement, analysis in the
body paragraphs proves why or how one
man’s approach was better than the other
man’s approach.
Example - Summary with no
Analysis
Martin Luther King believed that all men
were created equal, despite their race. He
hoped one day people would be able to
judge others by their character and not
their skin color (Doc. 2). He hoped that the
people of this country would one day be
able to live, work and study together in
freedom.
Example - Summary with
Analysis
With respect to integration, King’s method was a
much better choice for mid-twentieth century
America than Malcolm X’s. King’s philosophy
was preferable because integration would help
change Blacks’ and Whites’ opinions of each
other; only living and working with each other
can erase, or at least lessen, racism. Whites
would continue to prejudiced against AfricanAmericans unless society was integrated.
The use of rhetorical questions
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Rhetorical questions are questions that
you want people to think about, but that
you intend to answer in the course of your
essay.
Do not use rhetorical questions in a history
DBQ.
Just answer the question!
Rhetorical Questions Continued
•
•
Rhetorical Questions
“Is violence the
answer?”
“How can the United
States be united with
two separate
societies?”
•
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Without Rhetorical
Questions
“Violence is not the
answer.”
“The United States
could not survive as
two separate
societies.”
Quoting vs. Paraphrasing
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Your instructions were to paraphrase the
documents.
This means that you cannot use any
portion of the the document in your essay.
Just because you did not put quotation
marks around it doesn’t mean its not a
quote.
Examples
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Quotes
Martin Luther King
believed that both
races could work
together and pray
together.
X argued that Blacks
should teach Blacks
and Whites should
teach Whites.
•
•
Paraphrase
Martin Luther King
believed in integration
in all settings, such as
the workplace and
schools.
Malcolm X argued
that each race should
work independent of
each other.
Mechanics and Miscellaneous
Lots of frequent and small
mistakes.
1st Person
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DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON IN A
HISTORY ESSAY!
DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON IN A
HISTORY ESSAY!
DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON IN A
HISTORY ESSAY!
1st Person
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Use of 1st Person
In my opinion, Martin
Luther King’s
approach was better.
I don’t believe
violence solves
anything.
•
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Use of 3rd Person
Martin Luther King’s
approach was better.
Violence does not
solve anything.
Document Use
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You have to use the documents. It is a
Document Based Question.
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You had to use all of the documents, even
those that did not support your thesis.
By doing this, you create a basis for
comparison.
Direct vs. Indirect use of
documents and citation
placement
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Do NOT cite the documents in a direct
manner.
DO cite the documents at the end of the
sentence where the information is used.
Direct vs. Indirect
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Direct Use
Document 2 shows
that King believed in
integration.
In document 5, X
argued for
segregated schools.
•
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Indirect Use
King believed in
integration (Doc. 2).
X argued for
segregated schools
(Doc. 5).
Miscellaneous Mechanics
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Verb tense
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It is a history essay - use past tense.
Miscellaneous Mechanics
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Contractions
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In formal writing do not use contractions, spell
out the word(s).
Doesn’t= does not
 Can’t=cannot
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Miscellaneous Mechanics
Continued
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Italicize the names of Supreme Court
cases and provide the year.
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Brown v. Board (1954)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Miscellaneous Mechanics
Continued
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The use of racial terms like colored or
negro is inappropriate. These are
considered to be derogatory terms today.